A. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to hangers for hanging various types of hats, including visors and baseball-style caps having solid or strap backs and which are one size or adjustable. More particularly, the present invention relates to such hat hangers which are configured for hanging caps without damaging or modifying the brim of the cap. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to hat hangers which have one or more hanger sections configured to easily receive and securely hold a portion of the hat therein.
B. Background
A person's choice of dress generally includes various accessory articles that are used to enhance their appearance and/or which can provide functional benefits for the person. Accessory articles include hats, visors, headbands, belts and purses. Hats are utilized to protect the wearer's head, hair and face from the weather, including sun, rain and snow, to keep their hair relatively in place on windy days, to protect eyeglasses from the rain and fog, and to shade the eyes on sunny days. Visors provide some of the same benefits as hats, including keeping the wearer's hair in place, protecting eyeglasses and shading the eyes. Headbands also keep the wearer's hair in place and reduce the likelihood of sweat dripping into the wearer's eyes.
Many people enjoy wearing hats for various different purposes and occasions. One of the most popular style of hats is the “baseball-style” cap having a cap portion that covers the head from which a stiff brim extends forward to shade the eyes and protect the forehead from exposure to the sun. The cap portion is either configured to be a one size fits all or to have an adjusting mechanism to vary the size of the cap portion to better fit a person's head. The one size fits all type of cap can have a cap portion with solid back portion or a non-adjustable strap across the back of the cap portion. Adjustable caps typically either have a strap with a slidable buckle or a prong and hole apparatus at the back side of the cap portion that lengthens or shortens the strap. As is well known, many people like to shape the brim of the cap by bending it in an arch shape such that it bends downwardly toward the face when worn on the person's head.
One problem common to most accessory items and hats in particular is what to do with the item when it is not in use. Oftentimes, people hang the accessory item on racks having one or more hanging members extending from the rack. Some of these are speciality racks, in that they are particularly configured to hang a hat, belt or other item thereon. Generally, these speciality types of racks are mounted on a wall so that the hanging members extend outwardly from the wall. For convenience the hanging rack may be located in a closet, coat room or near entrance/exit doors. Freestanding coatracks are also employed to hang accessory items thereon. When a rack is not available or is already full of accessory items, many people utilize various flat surfaces, such as shelves, tables, cabinet tops and the like as a location to place or stack accessory items.
As is well known, unless care is used to neatly place the accessory items, they can become a mess that is both unsightly and potentially damaging to the accessory items. With regard to hats and visors in particular, the placement of hats and visors when not in use can be especially bothersome. It is not uncommon for persons to have a number of different hats of varying types that they wear for different uses or occasions. For example, many people have multiple baseball-style caps that have different statements and/or designs on the front and/or back portions of the cap, such as sports team logos, product names and logos, recreational areas and the like. Although hat racks and related devices may be able to hold multiple caps, visors, head bands and other articles, such racks require their own location to allow room for the rack and articles placed thereon. A better article holder would be one that is configured to cooperate with a closet rod hanger bar, such as those used to suspend clothes hangers having an article of clothing on each hanger in a closet or other compartment with other hangers having clothes thereon.
Several prior art hat holders are configured to hold one or more hats, including baseball-style caps, on a clothes hanger rod in a closet or other compartment. One such prior art cap holder is U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,428 to Robak, which discloses a combination cap hanger and cap brim curving device that has a hook portion configured for the typical clothes hanging rod and one or more sleeves configured to receive and shape the cap brim. The brim of the cap is rolled inward and placed in the sleeve such that the front of the cap is displayed above the hanger. The hanger body is curved inwardly to form an arch at approximately 120 degrees. Another prior art device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,063 to Fricano, is a combination cap hanger and visor press having a pair of spring loaded gripping members configured to grip the brim of the cap. Apertures on the handles of the gripping members allow the device to be hung on a hook. Another hat hanger, configured in a generally semi-circular shape out of spring wire, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,177,546 to Johnson. The hat hanger has two spaced apart arcuate supporting members that enclose the crown portion of the hat (typically a “top hat” type of hat) and a hook to suspend the hat hanger from a rod or hook. U.S. Pat. No. 2,108,678 to Kulhawy discloses a hat hanger made out of a compressible member (i.e., wire) configured into a loop portion that goes inside the hat to support the hat and a hook portion that connects to the loop portion to suspend the hat hanger. Design Pat. No. D436,742 to Mueller discloses a cap hanger that hangs a single cap on a hook or rod by engaging the cap by its brim in a generally arch shape. Design Pat. No. D346,700 to Weinhold discloses a sport cap hanger suitable for hanging on a rod or hook to hold a single cap. Design Pat. Nos. D319,738 and D309,219 to Hasslocher illustrate cap hangers configured to receive multiple hats in a stacking fashion. The cap hangers have a hook portion suitable for hanging the cap hangers on a rod or hook.
Although the prior art discloses devices for hanging hats, caps and other like articles, none of the presently known hangers are particularly configured to easily yet securely hold multiple baseball-style caps or the like on a hanger rod, such as those used in a closet, in a manner that does not shape or interfere with the shape of the brim of the cap. The devices which shape the brim do so by bending it in what is perceived as a preferred arch. In fact, however, not everyone prefers the particular arch shape disclosed in the prior art devices. The devices which hold a single hat by gripping the crown or being inserted into the hat do not work well for baseball-style caps and require too much closet space for the typical cap owner who has multiple caps. Therefore, what is needed is an improved cap hanger that securely holds multiple caps without damaging or modifying the cap brim and which is also suitable for holding other related articles, such as visors, headbands, belts, clothing and other articles having straps and the like. The preferred cap hanger should be configured to receive and securely hold caps with different types of backs on the cap portion and different types and sizes of adjustable mechanisms.